Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
Group Members: Jonathan Steingard
All Music Guide:
The Christian punk-pop quartet Hawk Nelson formed in 2003 in Peterborough, Ontario. Originally comprising frontman Jason Dunn, guitarist Davin Clark, bassist Daniel Biro, and drummer Matt Paige, the group set things in motion with the release of their debut EP, Saturday Rock Action, which earned the attention of fellow Peterborough native Trevor McNevan, vocalist of Tooth and Nail label act Thousand Foot Krutch. Thanks to McNevan's cheerleading, the label extended a contract offer to Hawk Nelson, who issued their full-length debut, Letters to the President, in mid-2004.
That fall, the band co-starred in an episode of the NBC drama American Dreams, portraying the Who and delivering a performance of "My Generation." Clark and Paige exited the lineup soon after, and with new guitarist Jonathan Steingard and drummer Aaron "Sqwid" Tosti filling out the roster, Hawk Nelson made a cameo appearance in the 2005 Hollywood family film Yours, Mine & Ours, performing their song "Bring Em Out." Their sophomore LP, Smile, It's the End of the World, followed in the spring of 2006.
Smile, It's the End of the World proved to be a popular Christian album, peaking at number three on the Christian charts and earning a GMA Dove Award nomination. However, it was the band's next release -- Hawk Nelson Is My Friend -- that turned Hawk Nelson into stars. Released in April 2008, the album topped the Billboard Christian Albums chart and peaked at number 34 on the Hot 100. It also marked one of the first times Hawk Nelson had worked with co-writers other than Trevor McNevan, with both Richard Marx and Raine Maida lending their own contributions to the tracklist. Live Life Loud followed in 2009, and Hawk Nelson returned to their fast, punky roots with their fifth album, 2011's peppy Crazy Love.
Wikipedia:
Hawk Nelson is a Christian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. The band has become very popular in the Christian music scene and was voted "Favorite New Artist" by CCM Magazine in their February 2006 Reader's Choice Awards. In 2006 Hawk Nelson won a No. 1 spot on VH1's top 20 video countdown with "The One Thing I Have Left" music video.
Early Years/Riding Around the Park/Saturday Rock Action (2000–2003)
Prior to the formation of Hawk Nelson, Dunn, Clark, and Paige were in the Peterborough-based group called SWISH, while Biro sang lead vocals for the four-piece group called the "Cheese Monkeys from Planet Nine" from Barrie, Ontario. In January 2002, Biro moved to Peterborough to join Dunn, Clark and Paige and together they created, Hawk Nelson. (they also used the name "Reason Being" briefly) They released their first independent EP, Saturday Rock Action.
Letters to the President (2004-2005)
They continued to perform and tour independently in Ontario, Canada, before being signed with Tooth & Nail Records, largely on the recommendation of Trevor McNevan, the lead singer of fellow Tooth & Nail bands Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static. McNevan, also from Peterborough, Ontario, is credited with discovering the band. In July 2004, Hawk Nelson released their major label debut Letters to the President. It was produced by Aaron Sprinkle and McNevan, who also co-wrote the album's fourteen songs. He has also appeared on some of the band's songs, as well as in their video for the song "California".
The band has achieved some success in the mainstream as well. They portrayed The Who on an episode of the NBC drama American Dreams, and they recorded a song named "Bring 'Em Out" for the 2005 motion picture Yours, Mine and Ours featuring Drake Bell. This song and another hit song "The Show" were both used on Sunday Night Football commercials. "Things We Go Through" from Letters to the President was also featured in Yours, Mine and Ours. On December 20, 2005 Hawk Nelson released Bring Em' Out EP.
Smile, It's the End of the World (2006–2007)
April 4, 2006 Hawk Nelson released Connect Sets EP with six acoustic tracks including: "Bring Em' Out", "Thing We Go Through", and "California".
In October 2005, the band re-released Letters to the President, with new material including their cover of The Who's "My Generation", three acoustic versions of some of their hits, and a limited edition cover. Hawk Nelson plays the party band for the film Yours, Mine and Ours (2005). Their songs "The Show" and "Something on my Mind" were featured in the game Thrillville in 2006.
Hawk Nelson released a "Double Take" which includes selections from Letters to the President and Smile It's the End of the World in March 2007 and Holiday Trio EP in 2007. In 2006 Jorden Dean filled in for Jonathan Steingard on rhythm guitar and background vocals starting with Winter Jam 2006, then in late 2007 Dean departed from the band.
The band released their second studio album, Smile, It's the End of the World, on April 4, 2006. The album was also co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch. The album won a GMA Canada Covenant Award for "Modern Rock/Alternative Album of the Year" in 2006. The album's first single, "Everything You Ever Wanted", went on to hit No. 1 for 9 weeks on the R&R Christian CHR chart, and was the fourth most-played song of 2006. The band spent the summer of 2006 touring the major Christian music festivals, and also took part in Jeremy Camp's Beyond Measure tour. Hawk Nelson released a three-track Christmas EP titled Gloria on November 21, 2006, and in winter of that year they toured with TobyMac's Winter Wonder Slam tour along with The Afters, Family Force 5, and Ayiesha Woods.
Bulletproof Records and producer Ralph Sall have assembled the compilation Charlotte's Web: Music Inspired By The Motion Picture featuring music by Christian artists including Hawk Nelson, Amy Grant, and Billy Ray Cyrus, which was released December 12, 2006. In addition, Bob Carlisle, Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer), and The Send have all contributed exclusive tracks.
Hawk Nelson performed in 2006 on the Fringe Stage at Creation Festival Northwest, then again on the main stage at Creation in 2007. They performed sometime between July 25–28, 2007, at Creation Festival Northwest on the Main Stage, and they played again on the Fringe Stage at Creation Festival Northeast sometime between June 27–30, 2007. In 2007, (and again in 2009), Hawk Nelson performed at Winter Jam with a variety of other Christian bands, which were Newsong, Jeremy Camp, Steven Curtis Chapman, Sanctus Real, and Britt Nicole. Hawk Nelson also toured with MxPx, Run Kid Run, Project 86, The Fold, and The Classic Crime on the Tooth and Nail Tour (Green Tee Show Photos).
In 2007, Aaron Tosti left the band to pursue other musical ventures and was replaced by Justin Benner. Benner had previously toured with Hawk Nelson before with The Send.
Hawk Nelson Is My Friend (2008–2009)
Hawk Nelson's third full album, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend was released on April 1, 2008, and featured songs co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace and Richard Marx.
In 2008, the band also contributed a cover of "Don't You (Forget About Me)", originally by Simple Minds, off the Don't You Forget About Me: The Covers EP. The song was also featured in back-to-school commercials for J.C. Penney. On June 8, 2010, Hawkology: Anothology of Hawk Nelson was released containing three previously released albums: Letters to the President,Smile, It's the End of the World,and Hawk Nelson Is My Friend. Summer EP was released on June 16, 2009.
In January, 2008 The band headlined their own tour, that they called the Green T Tour, which also featured Capital Lights and Run Kid Run (Green Tee Stage Show Photos).In the summer of 2008, Hawk Nelson played their second annual Faith Nights Baseball Tour.
Live Life Loud (2009–2010)
Hawk Nelson was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in the category for Best Recording Package, for their 2008 album Hawk Nelson Is My Friend.
On July 21, 2009 Hawk Nelson released their second single from their fourth album Live Life Loud called "The Meaning of Life", and on August 8, the song "Alive" began to be played on Christian Radio. They released their fourth album, Live Life Loud on September 22, 2009. The title song "Live Life Loud" was made available in the Rock Band store during the first week of April 2010. The song "Live Life Loud" was featured in the trailer for the movie, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules".
Crazy Love (2011–present)
On October 18, 2010, they released the track listing and release date of their fifth studio album, Crazy Love. which was released in stores February 8, 2011.
On June 17, 2011 Hawk Nelson released the single "Your Love Is a Mystery". On January 3, 2012, Hawk Nelson released "My Next Breath", the fourth single from Crazy Love.
Hawk Nelson released another Christmas EP November 1, 2011 including the songs "Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O'Come All Ye Faithful", "The Wassail Song", and "Up on the Housetop". Jeremi Hough, former drummer for Philmont, assisted with gang vocals on the EP.</ref>
A compilation album title, The Songs You've Already Heard: Best of Hawk Nelson, is scheduled to be released on March 27, 2012.
On February 1, 2012, lead vocalist Jason Dunn announced he would be leaving the band, in order to pursue his solo project, Lights Go Down. He is currently recording an album tentatively titled Abandon Progress. The band released a single called "One Shot". On March 11, 2012 in Fresno, California, frontman Jason Dunn performed his final US show with Hawk Nelson.
